This forum doesn't get much traffic so I'm hoping someone notices this!

There is a new tea shop opening within walking distance of my house but I know nothing about it. The signage and decor scream "corporate chain" but I can't seem to find any information about the place.

Right now it looks as though they are finishing trimwork and cabinetry so I imagine they will be opening soon. I'll check back here with a review once I've scoped the place but the suspense is killing me!

The most I could find about an "In Tea" in Colorado is a minimal info yellow pages listing, not sure if this would help. It doesn't appear to be a chain judging from the scarcity of info that I could google, but you never know.

Yup. That's the place and that's as much information as I have. They haven't even opened for business yet but my DH (who walks to work) just called to say that it looks as though they are a broom sweep away from customers.

Interesting...two posts from mysterious users just happen to come up on a thread asking about a tea store that no one has ever heard of, one of which is based in the same place as the shop. Please just be honest and introduce yourself folks, it comes off a lot better.

What is your point? First, I don't see that you have followed your own advice and identified yourself in anyway. This is simply a forum where people can leave comments and readers are free to take from them whatever they desire.

As for my comments, my name is Carl Cleveland and I am a business consultant. I met Carole Alvarez, the owner of InTea before she opened and was impressed with her planning and approach. I have been to the shoppe a number of times, have purchased a variety of their teas and often take both friends and business associates there. It's a great place that I highly recommend.

As for you, I am sorry that you approach life from such a cynical outlook. I do hope that changes for you.

Carl, let me explain myself and perhaps you can see my side of things. This is a forum for tea lovers to discuss tea. Every website on the internet bombards us with ads for everything under the sun, including tea. This is one of the few places where we can go that doesn't have that. The mods here work very hard to keep it a spam free zone.

Few vendors or tea shops are members of this forum. You can imagine that it is suspicious to see two very contrived sounding and promotional posts from new members who have never posted before. Especially since TeaChat rules state that new members with less than 6 posts and less than 30 days membership shall not post links, which you obviously ignored.

All I was saying that it would be better for the owner to post introducing herself and her shop to our community, meaning that she become a contributing member. As business man, you can see that this would be better received than having friends pretend to be neutral parties. Notice that neither you nor the other member have posted anything else? Another red flag. So yes I am cynical, because I prefer upfront honesty.

Thought I'd chime in as the owner's husband. Carl, a non profit consultant for Littleton,Colorado SBA -is a fine man and has been very selfless in working with my wife to make her dream come true . He's continues to help her in running a small business that is putting a staff of 8 "locals" to work and is bringing a breath of fresh air to suburban chain store /strip mall purgatory. He's a legit customer and frequents the store. The good Lord makes few finer than Carl.For those who care to know a little of the background: The In-Tea concept started years ago when we lived in Boston. My wife hung out at a few different tea shops in Cambridge while waiting for me to get out of class and cooked up the idea about bringing the tea "bar" concept out West.We moved back to Colorado in 2000 and after a few years caring for our young daughters, she set out to build the dream. Yep- we had a few fights on the way seeing that I am a marketer and she is a teacher. Example.....Carole: "Can't expose tea to light". Me: "People buy with their eyes." So the business plan compromised- we put the tea in clear 1 gallon sealed containers and laid them to rest on a "sled" that we stored in a cabinet of 96 cubby holes. For those of you over 40- think a repurposed library card catalog on steriods. Another example... Carole: " I only want one bathroom- my shop doesn't need two." Ralph: "Sweetie, men are bathroom slobs...from my days at Bennigan's bathroom cleanliness is a must...keep them separated." Compromise- separate "handcrafted" bathrooms (yes- handcrafted..come see 'em) that are too pretty for men to dirty up. Lastly, I am thankful that the literally 1000's of Tea samples are finally off the dining room table where they squatted for well over a year (yes she sampled about 10 for every 1 she pencilled into the line-up), my garage is back to normal with no pre-positioned store fixtures, and I am no longer laying tile, grouting and building cabinets at 'till 2:00 am. In- Tea is open and has been delighting visitors and the locals of SW Denver. All involved (our family's friends and the likes of Carl) have been very supportive. They do have exception quality of teas at a reasonable price and most importantly the staff loves their tea. Hope she delights all who care to visit!